Half-Life 3: it will be worth the wait, or it just won’t ever be at all

Where is Half-Life 3? Brenna thinks she knows: it’s a victim of its own success, locked away until such time as it can bring something as exciting as its prequels did.

To keep a reputation as one of the finest developers in the world, Valve can’t just crap out a Half-Life sequel. It needs to up the ante, and it needs to up it considerably. Whatever Half-Life 3 is, it won’t be “just more Half-Life”. It will have something new and different, and something very special.

It’s testament to the quality and import of the Half-Life franchise that 15 years on from the first release, and six years on from the latest, its promised sequels are still among the most-requested and discussed games ever to exist in potentia. Half-Life 2: Episode Three and Half-Life 3 are almost guaranteed bestsellers; their vapourous fame is such that thousands who didn’t play the originals will sign on and have a go.

So why the heck isn’t Valve spitting them out like nobody’s business? One of the things that makes fans so hopping mad is because it would be so easy to provide what they think they want. “Just give us more Half-Life,” is the plea. “How hard can that be? More Gordon Freeman having adventures. More Alyx. More first-person, immersive narrative; more interactive world; more strong level design; more cool puzzles and weapons and aliens.”

Valve could do that, pumping out a few more episodes or even a full sequel to keep the clamouring to a minimum. But it’d be doing something it has never done before – churn out another game just because it can, and not because it’s had a boatload of ideas just begging to be executed. Half-Life and Half-Life 2 don’t exist because Valve needed to make money, although there was a time when it did; they exist because Valve had something special to do and say with games.

The Half-Life games are much more than simple shooters; they are pioneers of first-person narrative technique and immersive level design. It’s easy to forget now that the formula has become generic, but it was a bold move to work with the strengths of gaming as a medium rather than against them, and its impact is felt in most modern triple-A games, from Call of Duty: Ghosts to Beyond: Two Souls. Techniques introduced in the first game were hugely refined in the second, and to a lesser degree in the Episodes. It contributed to a still-developing trend in gaming in which narrative is not just tacked on after the mechanics have been hammered out, but an intrinsic part of the entire creative process.

But although Half-Life and its sequels were highly influential and greatly enjoyable, they haven’t necessarily aged very well; players trying it for the first time today, informed by dozens if not hundreds of games employing its once-groundbreaking techniques, likely won’t find it as mind-blowing as contemporary gamers did. In fact, they may find it a little annoying – it contains a number of tropes that have started to wear thin due to repetition. It’s like watching an early slasher film and finding it a bit dull and predictable because nothing in it is shocking to you, even though contemporary audiences were gobsmacked by the tension and special effects. It’s still the first and maybe even the best, but the impact has been lost.

If Valve were to release a game that was, essentially, “just more Half-Life”, many fans and most critics would probably be disappointed anyway; the weight of expectation is that the franchise repeat its accomplishments by breaking new ground, establishing new conventions, and blowing our tiny minds. “Just more Half-Life” isn’t going to achieve that. It won’t do new things. It won’t surprise.

Valve’s modus operandi to date has been to do new things; to surprise; and to meet or exceed expectations. Its sequels – Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 – exist because there was something more to be done with those ideas, something that required a complete rebuild. We didn’t just get more Portal, or more Left 4 Dead; indeed, Left 4 Dead still had so much life in it that Valve’s decision to enact a total rebuild with Left 4 Dead 2 met with fan disapproval and accusations that the developer was milking it despite the many and varied improvements the new tech delivered.

It’s an unfair accusation. Valve doesn’t need to “milk” for money by ever releasing a shitty sequel; it owns Steam, has more cash than it is likely to need for a very long time, and doesn’t give a rat’s arse how many Fry TAKE MY MONEY pictures you send to it. But to keep a reputation as one of the finest developers in the world, Valve can’t just crap out a Half-Life sequel. It needs to up the ante, and it needs to up it considerably. Whatever Half-Life 3 is, it won’t be “just more Half-Life”. It will have something new and different, and something very special.

Where is Half-Life 3? It might be in the works. It might be nowhere. Perhaps it’s almost finished, or perhaps nobody at Valve has yet come up with the single, core idea that will form the heart of the new game, that spurs Valve to create something bigger, better and bolder than its progenitors. What is guaranteed is that when it does arrive it will be worth the wait – or we will simply wait forever. For Valve, there’s no middle ground.

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This is partly the same reason that I suspect Squeenix hasn’t tried to remake FF7 or make a game touted as a direct sequel like they’ve done with FFX-2 and the other FF13 games. I say partly because I think that while they’re concerned about quality, ultimately it’s because they’re concerned about how poor quality would hurt the bottom line for everything else.

A bad remake or sequel of the most touted game a company has to offer risks losing fans that would otherwise buy new stuff because of the company name. Steam can afford to do weird stuff with Team Fortress or try new things like Portal because they have people that trust the brand name and will currently forgive mistakes in some places. A bad Half-Life would kill that.

I’m also starting to suspect that there will be no Portal 3 for the same reason. Portal’s become popular enough to potentially rival Half-Life to the point some fans are suggesting a crossover of sorts between the two franchises.

@2: If I remember correctly, Valve hasn’t actually started Half-Life 3 or promised to make it, only that they’ll make it when the time is right. DNF got its reputation because of teams actually working on the game only to scrap the work and completely start over, over and over again, for a decade. I’d say FF15 is currently the new DNF until it actually releases. It’s the most high-profile game people actually want that’s been on the backburner for the longest, with Last Guardian as the next closest.

Lets be honest though Salarta, not making a sequel to something that deserves it can do as much damage to a company as making a bad one.

I’m not going to say for a fact that I know which companies have high integrity but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say none of them. Valve is mostly a private company which is why they’ve been able to make these kinds of decisions or else we’d be up to HL7 by now and probably Freeman Cart 2.

When you don’t have to please share holders, you can afford to sit on an IP as long as you deem it necessary but eventually you still need to either shit or get off the pot. I’m all for quality but Gabe has been on the pot so long that by this point he’s probably lost all feeling in his thighs.

…and with that, I leave you with a mental image of Gabe’s naked thighs. You’re welcome.

The biggest problem with HL3 is the expectations. Everybody is expecting something different from the other guy. Some of the masses will want the game to stick to no aim down sight other will say that this is too outdated. Regeneration health, other gameplay mechanics, overall story, everyone wants HL3 to be the most special thing ever and it is picturing it in their minds. And this will not happen, because people have different tastes.

In a way Valve are also culprits here. If they just had released Ep.3 most probably a lot of people would have been satisfied to a point, I would have been. Now we are stuck with a huge cliffhanger that was done outside the main series, which is just lazy. Valve had the momentum, but by around mid-2009 they’ve lost it all.

My guess is as good as Brenna’s, which is that Valve needs something revolutionary to make a bang. They can’t go ‘better graphics’ or ‘facial expression’ stuff. So what about a VR HL3, where you actually ‘in’ the gaming world? Or an open world MMO?

At the moment I would also prefer no new HL instead a mediocre one. But then, it’s Valve. Mediocrity isn’t what they are after …

Will be eating there words when that first glorious teaser gets released to the public

They will arched over there computers; eyes wide open, erections bursting out of there jeans spamming ‘pre order’ on steam until they have just overcharged there credit account having paid for 316 copies.

^ Mild exaggeration but I bet it something pretty fucking close.

Its not overhyped or long overdue, it will come when it comes and when it does it will be the most pre-ordered game in the history of game pre-orders and it probably wont even have a pre-order incentive. BOOM.

If Valve release HL3, there’d be little reason to talk about them anymore. I read more mentions of HL3 or Steam than I do of Valve.

I was recently replaying HL2 on hard, it really is hard, I’m so used to regenerating health and shields that it was quite a shock, I’m embarrassed to admit that I was waiting for my shields to recharge at one point, I could have sworn they recharged a little bit.
Enemies come at you from all directions, you need to have quick reflexes and be accurate, ammo is fairly scarce at times, it’s just a classic PC FPS. Saying that it is quite removed from the current trend of 4 hour “cinematic” shooters.

It’s a shame that Valve haven’t allowed for another Opposing Force or Blue Shift type of expansion.
I’d be happy if they tried to get more SIN Episodes made

“Valve could do that, pumping out a few more episodes or even a full sequel to keep the clamouring to a minimum. But it’d be doing something it has never done before”
Yeah, we all remember the perfect Counter Strike series, condition zero is widely recognized as the best CS game ever. The same can be said about Ricochet…

@3 But it’s probably going to be a “crossover” of portal and half life. In the end of episode 2, they go looking for an shipwreck of a ship from Aperture Science that contains something powerful. And remember that Portal is in the same universe as Half Life. Black Mesa and Aperture where rivals, both were destroyed for some reason, one by a portal not working as it should and making aliens invade earth and the other by an rogue AI

Me being a die hard half-life fan, still playing Half-Life 1 and Half-life 2 deathmatch almost 10 hours a month, i can say i am no longer excited for Half-Life 3.
It has taken too long and it has gotten annoying how there is never any word on it.

When it comes out i will buy it for sure. But no, i am not waiting for it as i used to. Lets see if i even buy it if it takes any longer than 2016

Just like TLG, this game is dead to me. I really don’t care any more, have moved on, and probably won’t bother with it when it does come. Games that take this long rarely turn out worth playing (that’s assuming it has been in development).

(I remember finally getting my hands of GT5, after at least 400 hours on GT4, and discovering within an hour that it was a huge, bloated load of crap that should have been put out of its misery years before it went gold.)

@4: Not really. Not making a sequel to a game that deserves one is better than making one that damages the company’s reputation. It’s the same reason Squeenix thrives so much. When you have a past great glory and haven’t maimed it, fanboys and fangirls will stick by the company even through periods of complete shit because they still think of the company as how they were when they made something good. By taking that and utterly ruining it, the company reveals to the fanboys and fangirls that they’re no longer the same company that knew what the hell they were doing when they made that great thing. That leads them to actually question everything the company makes instead of lapping up everything that comes out, which leads to lower sales, which means less money for the company.

Though you’re right that being a private company helps. Shareholders want their money, many don’t care about quality and view consumers as morons that will accept anything and find some excuse to make it acceptable in their heads. Sadly, sometimes they’re right.

@10: You don’t know what you’re saying. Yes, Valve lost this years ago. Why do they need to have a “special” status regarding their games? Ohh, because they’re Valve. Right! There are other well respected companies out there who release games and sequels and they announce their shit and it’s a successful shit year after year, but NO, Valve needs to have extra BALLS to keep this shit for themselves.

Just like @24 said, it’s dead to me and many many many other fans out there.

Look at EA, yes EA, those scums who are responsible for the best FPS series ever (Battlefield). How come they’re successful every one-two years? The fan and player base it’s the same or grows to be even higher. How can they do it? Valve has the manpower, resources, computers, money, YOU NAME IT, why do they keep a game that has the potential of 2-3 AAA games combined? Because they’re Valve, right? FUCK THEM!

Obviously we have mammoth expectations, HL came in 1998 when shooters felt like crap, it restored faith in gaming. Ever since, every FPS game on the planet started to ape HL, a saturation was naturally inevitable and HL2 cured that by introducing something new which was never seen or imagined in gaming, it had set a benchmark.

This is 2013 and if we are still thinking that FPS gaming has reached its peak, who knows there is an unknown side of it that is yet to be touched,
revolutions just dont happen overnight. It just wont be a HL game, it will not only surpass our towering expectations but take it somewhere beyond our wildest imaginations.

Wait till a year or two into next gen and release it, take the time with the engine and take advantage of all the hardware without the growing pains. It’s smart to wait till the dev kits matured and such.

I have high expectations but they aren’t ridiculous. I just need a game with the immersion of HL2 with next gen graphics and great writing. More Gordon adventures please.

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GOG.com is bringing back its Insomnia sale event with even more games. GOG’s Insomnia sale is back with double the amount of games. This year, there will be two sets of games available at once. The sets are seasoned classics and fresh new titles. Each set will feature games with discounts up to 90% off, […]

2K will be shutting down the servers for NBA 2K14 this month. The publisher revealed yesterday that online servers for NBA 2K14 will be turned offline on March 31. “You will no longer be able to play ranked games/online association,” reads the announcement. NBA 2K14 relied on online servers to store save files for MyCareer […]

A Dead or Alive tournament organiser has suggested a soft ban on some of the game’s “over-sexualised” costumes, and not everyone is happy. Tournament organiser “The HuBBs” took to the FreeStepDodge forums to suggest a list of rules that other offline tournaments can follow. The list goes over stages, characters, moves, which is certainly in […]

Bungie hosted an open house Q&A session with the community last week and lots of exciting news have come out of it. Arekkz Gaming has gathered all the information that came out of Bungie’s open house Q&A in one handy video. The list is massive, going over Exotic weapon balance, upcoming events, PVE, Crucible rewards, […]

Developers behind space exploration games Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen will honour the memory of Leonard Nimoy through in-game memorials. The develops of both games have confirmed separately that in-game memorials will be established to honour the memory of the late Star Trek actor, Leonard Nimoy, famous for playing Spock. Elite: Dangerous executive producer Michael […]

Amazon’s latest PlayStation 4 deal is not one to miss. With purchase of a PlayStation 4 console from Amazon in the US, the online retailer will throw in digital codes for Infamous Second Son, Killzone Shadow Fall and The Last of Us: Remastered, all for the same MSRP of $399. The Last of Us Remastered […]

The method one Redditor possibly used to leak some details from Destiny’s House of Wolves was the same one he used to predict the inventory of Xur: Agent of the Nine. Last week, Reddit user Megamanexe4 leaked a few pieces of House of Wolves expansion content. The leaks included strikes, new Crucible mode, and a […]

Mortal Kombat X will be releasing on mobile devices in some form, just not the one you except. Mortal Kombat X is coming to Android and iOS devices as an extension of the main game. It will launch in April alongside the console versions. The mobile game will be part card collecting and part fighting […]

Kojima Productions will unveil something about Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain this Wednesday. Metal Gear Solid fans should standby for a Phantom Pain-related announcement on Wednesday, March 4. According to developer Kojima Productions’ Twitter, there’s going to be an announcement at 2pm GMT on Wednesday. The developer posted the following image. The image […]

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Battlefield Hardline’s Premium membership will give players access to 4 new features, early access to expansion packs and more. EA detailed the offer today – it costs $50 in total (£40 in the UK) and gives players a whole bundle of new gear and content. Check it all out in handy list form below: Masks […]

Voice actor and Hollywood writer David Hayter discusses the differences between movies and games. And politely declines my leading question. “It might be fun to do a crazy, over-the-top film version of Saint’s Row.” Yeah, that headline is a bit cheap but you’re reading the work of a man who once asked the maker of […]

Microsoft has knocked up to £100 off Xbox One bundles in the UK. The Xbox One with Kinect Assassin’s Creed bundle is now £100 cheaper and comes with a free £20 voucher to be spent on the official Microsoft online store. Over on the Xbox online store there’s a £70 price cut on the white […]

Free-to-play 3DS title Pokemon Shuffle has been downloaded over 1 million times. As a reward for playing the match-3 puzzle game Nintendo has gifted players a Complexity -1 item for free. The item reduces the difficulty of a level, according to Eurogamer. By all accounts Pokemon Shuffle is a cynical game with poorly implemented microtransactions. […]

FrozenByte Games has revealed Trine 3, due for release in 2015 And what better way to reveal a new side-scrolling adventure than with a very pretty trailer full of gameplay? The latest in a series that has already sold 7 million copies is earmarked for PC and “other” formats. Trine 2 released on PS3, PS3, […]

A month since it was released on digital platforms, Dying Light’s physical release has topped the UK charts. Techland and Warner’s zombie survival game has proven to be one of the big hits of the year so far. It was released on digital formats a month ago but has only just been released on good-old […]

Think you can take down a jet plane with a grenade throw? This guy can. In fact, he can do it twice. This is in a variation on the player-created deathmatch “Stunters Versus Snipers” which seem to be all the rage in GTA Online at the moment. One team has a sniper rifle (and grenades) […]

The Phantom Pain looks nice even when Kojima just takes a quick pic with his phone. Look at that beauty. We get nice reflection in pink at the first gray of dawn.
pic.twitter.com/aERTBoZT9z — HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 2, 2015 The game doesn’t have a release date yet, which makes us a bit nervous for it […]

Dying Light still has legs – maybe because it’s crammed full of secret things to discover. Ten of those have been highlighted by TerraMantis’ latest YouTube video, including reference to the Underpant Gnomes, guitar lessons, farting zombies and well, we don’t want to spoil it for you. Even if you think you’ve seen everything in […]

Why blind ‘em with science when you could kill ‘em with dance moves? revelations raid When I say Resident Evil: Revelations 2‘s Raid Mode dance gestures are deadly, I’m not being figurative. If you finish the first chapter of Revelations 2 you can unlock Gina for use in Raid Mode. All characters can use gestures […]

“Male Inquisitors can now scale the wall,” says a clever Redditor. A new Dragon Age: Inquisition mod removes Blackwall’s romantic restrictions, allowing male Inquisitors to chat up the fuzzy-faced warrior. Blackwall doesn’t have any race preferences, so you’re good to go there. Dragon Age: Inquisition romance mods are pretty common by now, and to be […]

Destiny players willing to faff about with their system clock can solo the Weekly Nightfall if they prefer. The Weekly Heroic is one of Destiny‘s toughest challenges. Responding to player feedback Bungie implemented matchmaking for the Weekly Heroic, but there are players who genuinely prefer to go it alone. There’s now no legitimate way to […]

A Clayfighter remake is inbound, apparently. Interplay has announced a Clayfighter remaster, combining the content of all past games into one package. Features include: Characters such as Bad Mr. Frosty, Blue Suede Goo, Earthworm Jim, Hoppy, Boogerman, Tiny – and more with over 20 characters total Over 20 familiar environments from the series to duke […]

Dying Light players! Are you sick of picking your way carefully up the sides of tall towers? Have I got a trick for you. The parkour system in Dying Light is okay, but climbing anywhere especially high can be a bit tedious. Enter Jesse Lester, who took a look at the tools available and worked […]

Destiny developer Bungie won’t stop tinkering with Exotic weapons. In Destiny, Exotic weapons are supposed to be the best of the best – and to feel unique. Guns like Ice Breaker and Gjallahorn definitely hit the mark there (although less so when everyone has one), but unfortunately, there are a few that just don’t strike […]

Uncharted 4′s first proper trailer bears some remarkable similarities to the opening moments of a much earlier Naughty Dog game. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End has more in common with Crash Bandicoot than you might think. It’s Naughty Dog’s first game on a new console, yes – but if you compare Uncharted 4′s E3 2014 […]

Sonic Team leader Takashi Iizuka has said there are no plans to stop making Sonic games. Sonic hasn’t retired from the ranks just yet. “Please rest assured, I personally have no plans to stop making Sonic games for home consoles,” Iizuka told 4Gamer [Japanese]. The comment arose after the site asked if Sonic would become […]